


Life Finds a Way

by heyjupiter



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dinosaurs, Alternate Universe - Jurassic Park, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 15:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wealthy geneticist Sebastian Shaw can't wait to unveil his new project, Jurassic Park, to the world. But first, his lawyer Emma Frost insists that the park be approved by a team of experts: paleontologist Raven Darkholme, paleobotanist Charles Xavier, and chaotician Erik Lehnsherr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Charles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littledust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledust/gifts).



> Thanks to likeadeuce for her fantastic beta reading & to fourteenacross for answering my many emails about dinosaur problems!
> 
> This obviously owes a huge hat tip to the film Jurassic Park (screenplay by Michael Crichton and David Koepp, based on the novel by Michael Crichton). I quoted several key lines from Jurassic Park in this. Um, and also borrowed the entire plot of Jurassic Park. Thanks for all the dinosaurs! I promise to put them back where I found them.

"Goodness, Raven, look at this view! Gorgeous!" Charles enthused. He gestured out at the ocean, clearly visible from the helipad atop their hotel.

"It's something, all right," Raven said, a flat expression on her blue face.

"Is this your first time in Tanzania?" asked Sebastian Shaw, the billionaire who'd brought them there.

"Yes," Charles said, "But I do hope it won't be my last."

"I'm sure it won't," Shaw replied. "Not after you see what's in store for you on Genosha. It puts this view to shame."

"I can't wait!" Charles said. He looked at Raven and thought, _Don't roll your eyes, darling, it's rude._

_I didn't!_ she mentally protested. _I just thought about it._

Charles shook his head minutely, and Raven added, _I just don't understand why we're here. It's not like we need the consulting fee he's offering, and it makes no sense for us to leave the dig right now just to go see some park._

Charles grinned. _I'm sure Darwin is more than capable of running the dig without us for a few days, and I think you'll understand once you see it. I'm afraid I cheated a bit and peeked into Shaw's mind._

_You know? You know what the big surprise is? You have to tell me,_ Raven thought back furiously.

Charles's grin widened and he shook his head. _You'll have to see it to believe it_ , he replied. Then he turned his smile on the two people who approached their party. 

"Ah, so glad you could join us," Shaw said, though Charles could tell his sentiment lacked sincerity. "Dr. Xavier, Dr. Lehnsherr, this is Emma Frost, the attorney who represents my investors. And--"

"Yes, of course, Emma and I go way back. And Dr. Erik Lehnsherr," Charles said. "I've read your book, _Mutant Mathematics_. Fascinating! I'm thrilled to meet you. I'm Charles Xavier."

"Ah," Dr. Lehnsherr said, extending a hand. "Are you a mathematician as well?"

"No, no, I'm a paleobotanist, but I like to be well-read. And your TED talk was compelling! This is my sister, Raven. She's a paleontologist. Perhaps you've heard of her--she recently found a complete triceratops in Montana," Charles said with obvious pride.

Raven shrugged. "We found it together, with our team. I just happened to trip over the first piece. Literally."

"Hmm," Dr. Lehnsherr said. Charles couldn't help but skim the surface of the other man's mind, and discovered that Dr. Lehnsherr was not aware of the park's true nature, but that he felt quite a lot of animosity toward Dr. Shaw. He also couldn't help but notice that Dr. Lehnsherr, wearing his trademark leather jacket despite the heat, looked even more handsome in person than he did in his frequent media appearances.

Charles didn't quite understand what Dr. Shaw wanted with a mathematician--even a "rock star" mathematician like Dr. Lehnsherr--so he asked, "And what brings you to Genosha this weekend?"

Dr. Lehnsherr said, "I owe Ms. Frost a favor. She asked me to create some mathematical models to predict how her investment will behave."

"How interesting," Charles said. "Can you predict everything with your models?"

Dr. Lehnsherr opened his mouth to reply, but the whirring blades of an approaching helicopter cut him off. After it landed, Shaw gestured at it and shouted, "Genosha awaits us!"

Charles shouldered his backpack and eagerly followed Shaw on board the helicopter. He sat next to Raven and across from Dr. Lehnsherr, which suited him fine. 

Once they were airborne, Charles said, "You were saying, Dr. Lehnsherr?"

"Erik, please. I was saying that yes, I do believe mathematical models can explain our world. You're familiar with chaos theory?"

"Yes, of course."

"I'm not," Raven said.

"Well, it's also known as the butterfly effect--the concept that a single butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane across the world. That is, that small changes in initial conditions can have wildly varying effects on the outcomes. I've been able to create computer models that simulate this effect. Perhaps you saw the models I made to predict what might happen if various world leaders revealed themselves to be mutants?"

"Oh, right, I remember that," Raven said. "A bunch of people emailed me your TED talk about that."

"Yes, it was quite interesting," Charles said.

Shaw shook his head and said, "Dr. Lehnsherr has never been able to convince me of the validity of his models."

"Well, I'm convinced of them, and so is MIT," Emma said. "If this park doesn't get approval from him and his models--or from you two--I'm advising the investors to pull out. They're deeply concerned about the stability of the park."

Shaw laughed. "By the end of this weekend, I'll be accepting your apology."

"Mmm," Emma said, wearing the same expression Charles had seen her wear when the bartender at her family's Christmas party told her they were out of champagne. "We'll see about that." Then she turned away from Shaw and said, "Charles and Raven, it's lovely to see the two of you, by the way. You're both still out digging up bones?"

"Well, it's a _bit_ more complicated than that, love," Charles said. "But yes, we are. If you ever want to come out and visit a dig, just say the word."

Emma raised her eyebrows. "No, thank you. When the mood strikes me to look at old bones, I find lunch at my family's country club quite fulfills that."

"Of course," Charles said, managing to keep a straight face when Raven thought at him, _I'm_ so _excited to spend a weekend on an island with her._

_You'll forget all about her soon enough,_ Charles replied. 

Shaw said, "Ah, we're about to make our descent. There's a bit of wind shear, so this may be bumpy. But don't worry, Angel is a fine pilot."

Charles and Raven both gasped at the unexpected drop. Emma, being Emma, remained cool as a cucumber. But Charles was interested in Erik's reaction. His face didn't react, but Charles sensed from him both fear and a sense of control. Charles couldn't help but reach out and follow that feeling, and as the helicopter dropped down toward land, Charles understood what Erik was hiding. He gasped, and Shaw said, "No worries, Dr. Xavier! Everything will be fine."


	2. Raven

They were met at the helipad by two Jeeps with a T. rex logo, driven by polo shirted employees. As they drove, Charles reached out and casually grabbed a leaf of a fern. 

"Look, Raven, this has been extinct since the Cretaceous Period! Can you believe it?"

But Raven saw something more impressive. She grabbed Charles's head through the ridiculous wide-brimmed sunhat he wore--his skin didn't have the natural sun protection Raven's did--and forced him to turn and look at a brachiosaurus. A fucking brachiosaurus. "Oh my God, Charles! How is this possible? I can't believe you didn't tell me this is what we were coming to see."

Charles smiled serenely and said, "Would you have believed me if I'd told you?"

"Whatever," Raven said. She elbowed him and said, "Let's get a closer look!" They all piled out of the Jeeps and approached the huge creature. "This is incredible. It's a _dinosaur_."

Dr. Lehnsherr said, "He actually did it." 

"Isn't it fantastic?" Charles asked.

"Wait until you see the T. rex," Shaw said.

"You've got a T. rex?" Raven asked.

"Yes!"

"A Tyrannosaurus Rex," Raven repeated. 

"Breathe, Raven," Charles said. "Put your head between your knees." Telepathically he added, _It's quite all right, Raven, Shaw has excellent safety measures in place._

Raven caught her breath and replied, _I'm not sure I believe there's anything on earth that could stop a T. rex from getting its prey._

_A meteor, perhaps?_

_Not funny, Charles,_ Raven thought, and then she turned toward the sound of roaring. Aloud, she said, "Oh! They do move in herds."

Charles beamed and said, "Just like you hypothesized!"

"But how did you do this?" Raven asked. "What are they made of?"

Shaw smiled and said, "I'll explain everything in due time, Dr. Darkholme."

Raven pursed her lips. She rather thought she had been patient enough, but Charles squeezed her hand and thought, _We've waited our whole careers for something like this. We can wait a few more minutes._

_Easy for you to say. I bet you've already cheated._

_I haven't!_ Charles responded indignantly. _I do try my best not to, you know._

Raven was inclined to believe him after she saw his genuine delight and wonder at the cheesy informational video Shaw made them watch, explaining the process of harvesting blood from mosquitoes trapped in amber and the subsequent cloning. It was fascinating, but it didn't feel quite… right, especially after the lab tech explained that all the dinosaurs are female. 

Dr. Lehnsherr laughed and said, "How like Dr. Shaw to think he can play god and control all these factors. If there's one thing evolution has taught us, it's this: life will find a way."

Dr. Shaw, his expression tightly controlled, said, "Anything we can create, we can control."

Dr. Lehnsherr snorted and said, "Life always finds a way."

Ignoring him, Dr. Shaw said, "Now, who's ready for lunch?"

As it turned out, they passed the raptor enclosure on their way to the dining room, and it was lunchtime for the raptors as well. Raven listened in awe and disgust as they demolished the live cow that had been dropped down to them. A short, scruffy man in jeans and a white tank top watched disapprovingly. "Ain't right to have these as part of a tourist attraction," he said.

Dr. Shaw smiled and said, "This is Logan, our game warden. He's not much of a people person, but he's the best there is at what he does."

Raven asked Logan, "Do they show intelligence? Can they hunt in packs?"

"Yeah. Some of the smartest predators I've ever seen--and I've seen a lot of predators. Great problem solvers. I've been telling Shaw here, it's only a matter of time before they solve the problem of how to get past that electric fence."

Dr. Shaw laughed. "I would love to see these lizards solve the problem of 10,000 volts of electricity, I really would."

"No, you would not," Emma Frost said, and Dr. Shaw laughed, as if it were a joke. Raven could still hear the sounds of the raptors eating, and was inclined to agree with Emma, as much as she hated to admit it. 

Dr. Lehnsherr said, "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."

Raven replied, "Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth!"

"No, no, it's a moot point," Dr. Shaw insisted. "It will never happen. Now, they've had their lunch, let's have ours!" 

He led the way to a fancy dining room where they were served Chilean sea bass. Charles poked at his food, but Raven had never had a weak stomach. While she ate, Dr. Lehnsherr offered a scathing critique of Dr. Shaw's work. "The problem I have with all this is not that it's playing God. It's that you didn't do your own work, you didn't earn this knowledge yourself. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish this, and you don't fully understand what it is that you have wrought."

Dr. Shaw said, "Now, Erik, scientists have always collaborated with one another. You should know that as well as anyone."

Thin-lipped, Dr. Lehnsherr said, "There is a difference between collaborative research and what you have done here."

"Erik, I really don't think you understand the full story," Dr. Shaw said. "My scientists have done things here that no one has done before."

Dr. Lehnsherr shook his head and said, "Ms. Frost… invited… me here to provide my honest opinion about the safety of this park, and I intend to do so. Just because your scientists are technically capable of doing something does not mean that they should."

"What about California condors, or pandas? If we had engineered an island full of those creatures, I doubt you'd have anything to say."

"There is a difference between those animals--which have been driven to near extinction by the unthinking acts of mankind--and the dinosaurs, which I think we can all agree had their fair shot at survival without human interference. Natural selection de-selected the dinosaurs, Dr. Shaw, and we have no right to contradict nature."

"And how can you expect to recreate an entire extinct ecosystem?" Charles asked. "It's such a delicate balance. Each creature relies on another, from the smallest microbe up to the T. rex herself."

Dr. Shaw looked around the table and then locked eyes with Raven. "Dr. Darkholme! If there's one person here who should appreciate what I'm trying to do here, it would be you."

Raven shook her head. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but dinosaurs and man are two species separated by 65 million years of evolution. I'm not sure changing that is such a great idea. That panda island, though… I'd pay money to go there."

Dr. Shaw threw up his hands. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" For a moment, his expression looked truly angry. Then he blinked and said, "But of course, you can't make up your minds until you've had the full tour, now can you?"

Dr. Shaw led the way to some self-guiding electric Jeeps. He directed Charles and Raven to take the second one, while Emma and Dr. Lehnsherr would lead, but Dr. Lehnsherr ignored that and jumped in next to Charles. 

The park was truly stunning, Raven had to admit, and she gasped along with everyone else when the Jeep pulled up alongside a group of triceratops. She'd become a paleontologist because she loved dinosaurs, after all, and despite her misgivings about the park, well… it was still impressive.

"Oh no, it looks like that's one sick," Charles said, and Raven thought how like him it was to notice that first. "Can we stop?"

Raven peered at the Jeep's controls, but the car halted before she found a way to stop. She remembered that Dr. Lehnsherr could manipulate magnetic fields. He used his power to memorable effect in his pop science videos. 

Charles hopped out of the Jeep and immediately strode up to the trike, which was laying on its side and making a sound that Raven could only hypothesize was abnormal for the creature to be making.

She exchanged a brief glance with Dr. Lehnsherr, and then they both followed Charles. A man with red skin and a Jurassic Park polo shirt was already examining the dinosaur. He and Charles were talking to each other intensely by the time Dr. Lehnsherr and Raven caught up to them. She exchanged brief a nod of acknowledgment with him, one differently-colored mutant to another. He introduced himself as the park's veternarian, Azazel. Raven wondered what qualifications you'd need to be a dinosaur veterinarian.

Charles said, "You're sure they're not eating any of the Indian lilac berries?"

Azazel, "Yes, of course."

Raven tuned out for a moment and just took in the dinosaur. It really was amazing what Dr. Shaw and his team had done. She reached out a hesitant hand to touch the stricken dinosaur's side. The triceratops's skin felt a bit like Raven's own. They'd both adapted to survive. She'd thought dinosaurs were the past, and mutants were the future, but maybe she'd been wrong. 

Dr. Lehnsherr gestured at a huge pile of dinosaur scat and said, "Just look at the shit Dr. Shaw has brought us here to see."

Charles laughed and asked the red-skinned mutant, "Do you have any gloves I could borrow?"

He dug through a field kit and handed Charles a pair of rubber gloves. "Excellent," Charles said, examining the scat.

"You _do_ get very involved with your work, Charles," Dr. Lehnsherr said.

"Guilty as charged," Charles said. "Azazel, might I stay here with you and help keep an eye on this magnificent creature?"

Azazel shrugged. "Yes, I suppose so." 

Raven said, "How will you get back to the lodge? I don't see another Jeep."

Azazel grinned and said, "That will not be a problem."

Raven raised an eyebrow and Azazel responded by snapping his fingers, disappearing, and reappearing on the other side of the dinosaur.

"Oh, cool," Raven said. "And you can take a passenger?"

"As I said, it will not be a problem," Azazel said. 

"I'll catch up with you later, love," Charles said brightly. He was never happier than when he had a problem to solve. "Do enjoy the tour!"

"Sure. Enjoy your dinosaur shit," Raven said. Dr. Lehnsherr laughed, and she followed him back to the Jeep.


	3. Erik

Erik reached out with his power and restarted the stupid electric Jeep. One more thing Shaw hasn't thought through--in an uncontrolled system like Jurassic Park, surely it would be better to have human drivers, who could intelligently respond to stimuli, rather than this amusement park ride that could only follow the track? He would be sure to mention that in his report to the investors.

His revenge against Sebastian Shaw had been a long time coming, but would be so sweet. Erik was no longer the helpless child he'd been when he first met Shaw. Erik's fame and renown as a chaotician had grown over the years. Apparently, being the "bad boy of mathematics" would make a person a popular guest on cable news shows. His bad press for Jurassic Park would be enough to ruin Shaw, regardless of whether or not Emma decided to pull her investment. Which she probably would anyway--Emma Frost was many things, but she was not a fool. 

He smiled to himself, thinking of it, and Raven said, "What's so funny?"

"Life," Erik said.

"Fair enough. What do you think of the park so far?"

"It's the worst idea I've ever heard. Emma told me one worker has already been killed by a rogue raptor, and I'm surprised the death toll isn't higher. It absolutely should not open to the public, ever."

"Okay, but tell me how you really feel," she said drily. Erik appreciated her sense of humor.

"Charles seems to like it," Erik said.

"Charles likes everything."

"I see. Are the two of you…"

"Brother and sister," Raven said. She gave him an appraising look and added, "He's single. You're definitely his type. Just so you know."

"Ah. Thank you for the information."

"Thought I might save you the time of creating a mathematical model to predict his behavior," Raven said, then frowned at the display screen. "We're supposed to be seeing the T. rex any moment now." The Jeep stopped, according to its pre-recorded schedule.

"See? You can't account for the unpredictability of nature," Erik said. 

"I thought that was the whole point of your models."

"Mmm. No. The point of my models is to predict unpredictability," Erik replied. They waited in silence for a few moments, and the Jeep moved on. Thunder boomed, and the afternoon quickly grew dark. Their tour continued, but there wasn't much to see in the storm. Then the Jeep stopped abruptly. "God, I am tired of being right all the time," he announced.

Raven looked at the Jeep's controls and found no way to restart the Jeep. "The radio's dead, too," she said.

"Ah, well," Erik said. He reached out with his mutant power to pull the car forward.

"No, wait," Raven said. "Do you hear that? Or feel it?"

They both looked at the bottle of water in the cupholder, which was vibrating alarmingly. Then they looked out the window. 

"Well, we found the T. rex," Erik whispered. "I guess the electric fences are down too."

He started pulling the Jeep forward again, faster now, and Raven hissed, "No, stop! Her vision relies on movement."

Erik stopped, but said, "I think she's already seen us."

"Based on all my research, I don't think they have a sense of object permanence," Raven whispered. "Let's stay here and see if she moves on." They waited in tense silence while the T. rex paced around them. Then the huge dinosaur bent down and looked in the windshield. She roared, and Erik knew he'd never forget that sound. Then she opened her mouth, and Erik summoned all of his power and pulled the whole Jeep up and away from the T. rex.

"How fast can they run?" he asked, hurtling the Jeep away as fast as he could. The dinosaur was definitely following them.

"I don't know!" Raven said. "How fast can _you_ go?"

"Believe it or not, this is the first time I've had occasion to fly a Jeep through the air away from a prehistoric creature," Erik said. Truthfully, he was nervous. He used his powers daily, but mostly for small things. Lifting something as heavy as the Jeep took a huge amount of energy. He hadn't done something as big as this since the day his powers first manifested, and even then, his best efforts had failed to save his mother's life. 

He pulled them toward the visitors' center as best as he could. Finally, the T. rex gave up, perhaps having found some less challenging prey, and Erik lowered the Jeep back to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Wow, that was amazing. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. I just… need a moment," Erik said. He needed several, actually. 

But after too-few moments, Raven said, "Uh… I… is there any way you can do that again?"

"Is the T. rex back?"

"No, but… " Raven said, nodding at the small dinosaur that approached their car.

"That doesn't look so bad."

"It's a dilophosaurus," Raven said, digging under all the car seats. "They were earlier on the tour, with the gorgeous neck frill… can't believe there aren't any emergency weapons in here, a tranquilizer gun or something… shit. They spit venom."

Erik reached out with his power and experimentally pulled the Jeep forward. The dinosaur followed, tapping a claw on the glass. "I'm sorry, Raven," he said. "I just… I can't do any more at the moment."

"Okay. It's okay," Raven said. "We'll, uh… we'll…" 

As she struggled to come up with a plan, they both heard a loud popping sound and turned to look. Charles and Azazel had appeared next to their Jeep.

"Charles! Thank God," Raven said.

"Get out of the car," Azazel said. "We'll teleport out of here together." 

"Hurry!" Charles said, unnecessarily. Raven and Erik locked hands with them, though not before a dinosaur spit at them. Charles, standing at the far edge of their group, hissed in pain, and then they all vanished, passing through a cold, dark place for a fraction of a second, and then reappearing inside the visitors' center dining room, lit only by dim emergency lights.

"Charles!" Raven said. "Oh my God, are you all right?"

"I…" Charles said, and then collapsed to the ground. "I can't feel my legs."

Raven knelt down and checked his pulse. "Their venom causes paralysis," Raven said, urgently. "I'm not sure what effect it would have on the human nervous system. Dr. Shaw, do you have an antidote?"

"Ah…" Shaw said. "I'm afraid I don't know. And I won't have access to any of that information until our power gets back online. I would imagine my researchers would have… something."

"Then let's get the power back online," Raven said. "Now."

"I assure you, it is a top priority for us," Shaw said testily. 

Erik sat down in one of the dining room chairs, hard. He'd never used his mutant power so much in one day. Raven helped Charles get up onto the table and then said, "Emma, can you get a first aid kit? And some water?" 

Shaw said, "There should be both in the kitchen, that way."

"Of course," Emma said. She transformed into her diamond form and said, "I'd like to see a dinosaur try to take a bite of me now," before leaving the room.

Raven continued, "Dr. Shaw, where are the circuit breakers? Or the generators? What needs to happen to get Jurassic Park online?"

Shaw said, "I assure you, my security team is on it."

Raven stared at him and said, "You'll forgive me if I don't have the most faith in your security team right now."

Shaw said, "Well--I suppose you might be able to help, Dr. Darkholme. Azazel, please take us to the control room."

Raven looked at Erik and Charles and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes, all right. Erik--please, look after Charles until we get back."

"Emma should be back with supplies before too long," Shaw said.

Raven stared at Erik with her unnerving, beautiful yellow eyes, and Erik said, "Yes, of course I'll look after Charles," though he wasn't sure of his ability to fight off another dinosaur, not without a little more recovery time.

Raven squeezed her brother's hand and said, "I'll be back as soon as possible, okay?"

Weakly, Charles said, "I love you, Raven."

"Of course you do. I'll be right back. You're gonna be fine, Charles."

After Azazel teleported away, Erik rested his head on his hands.

"Erik?" Charles said.

"I'm here."

"Could you… would you mind terribly holding my hand?" Charles asked. "I'm afraid I can't see."

Erik was oddly touched to be asked, and he moved closer so he could reach the other man's hand. "Not much to see here, anyway. At least not until they get the power back."

"Mmm."

"Your sister's… tenacious. I'm sure she'll find the anti-venom."

Charles murmured something unintelligible and then Erik felt a light touch in his mind. Just his luck to be trapped on Shaw's island with no power, a T. rex, and a delirious telepath. Erik muttered, "Cloning dinosaurs never should have been an option."

In his mind, Erik heard Charles say, _You were right all along._

"Yes, I know," Erik said. Erik had known a few other telepaths before and could recognize the sensation of telepathy, but Charles's presence was gentler than Emma's.

 _I'm sorry, I'm being terribly rude,_ Charles thought.

"That's all right," Erik replied. 

Emma returned to the dining room, her arms full of supplies. "How is he?" she asked.

Erik shrugged at Emma and sorted through the kits she'd brought back. He gave Charles a bottle of water and began cleaning the venom off of Charles's skin with antiseptic wipes.

"I'm telling Shaw that definitely pulling my investment, by the way," Emma said.

"Oh, lovely," Charles said.


	4. Moira

Moira paced behind Nick's chair. "Can't you go faster?"

Nick took a drag off his cigarette and glared at her with his good eye. "I'm going as fast as I can with you bugging me."

"Sorry, sorry," Moira said. "I just wish I could help."

"Hendry's the only one who could get Jurassic Park back online any faster."

"Goddamn Hendry! I never trusted that guy," Moira said.

Then Azazel popped into their midst with Shaw and Dr. Darkholme.

Shaw raised his eyebrow. "What does Mr. Hendry have to do with all this? Do you think he can control the weather? That would be quite a talent."

"He might not have caused the tropical storm, but he definitely disabled our security system," Nick said. 

"And there's been no sign of him since he went down to the vending machine an hour ago," Moira added.

"But why?" Dr. Darkholme asked. "What good does it do him if all the dinosaurs run amok?"

"I'm not sure, but he must stand to benefit in some way. Maybe he was paid off by a rival company?" Moira said. "I'll review the security footage when we get everything back online. Assuming we don't get eaten by dinosaurs first."

"How much longer will it take to get everything back? Isn't there a backup generator?" Dr. Darkholme asked.

Nick shrugged. "The backup generator is what this room and the emergency lights throughout the building are running off of, but it's not big enough to power much else. I've been trying to debug this code for the last hour. I've made some progress, but it's gonna be a tough nut to crack."

"Aren't there any failsafes? Can you do a hard restart somewhere?" Dr. Darkholme asked.

Moira said, "We might be able to, but it would be safer if Nick could get the computer network back online first. Logan went to look for Hendry, but I don't know if he'll find him. If I had to guess, I'd say he found a way off this island. We don't have any cell service on the island, and the phones were knocked offline with everything else."

"Look, ma'am, my brother was hit by dilophosaurus venom. I need to access whatever research you guys have about them. Dilophosaurus is a very rare dinosaur… only a few fossil specimens have ever been found, and I've never read anything about how their venom might work… and of course, that would only be hypothetical, anyway. There'd be no way of knowing how it would interact with the human nervous system. Until now, anyway, and I really wish my brother weren't the lab rat," Dr. Darkholme said.

Moira sighed. "Shit. Look, I'm in charge of park security, that's really not my area of expertise… all the research personnel evacuated before the storm hit. That's who you'd need to talk to. But I promise, as soon as our system gets back online, we'll give you access to whatever research we have. And when the weather clears up we'll get you a consult with Dr. Quested, no problem."

Nick lit another cigarette off his last one and said, "I think we might just have to do a hard reset. I can't get this motherfucking virus off this motherfucking network."

"Okay," Dr. Darkholme said. "So do it."

"It's not that simple. It might not come back at all," Moira said.

"But if it does, it'll undo the virus Hendry left," Nick said. "I think it's our best bet."

"I'm inclined to agree," Shaw said. 

Moira felt better now that there was a plan, and her pacing took on purpose. She pulled out high-powered flashlights, a set of walkie talkies, and a huge tranquilizer gun, which she loaded.

Nick got up from his computer station and opened the breaker box on the wall. "Hold onto your butts," he said. The room was silent except for the heavy thunk of switches being flipped, and the room was plunged into darkness. Then they heard the switches again, and… nothing happened.

"It worked!" Nick said.

"Um, it's still dark in here," Dr. Darkholme said.

"But the computers are back online, look," Nick said, and sure enough, the screens were glowing with their familiar startup screens. "We might need to reset the breakers in the generator room to get everything back online."

Moira said, "Okay, let's do it. Azazel, can you teleport me?"

"I can come too, if it would help," Dr. Darkholme said.

"Yes, fine, it is no problem, I was hired as a human taxi, not as a veterinarian," Azazel said.

"Oh--sorry, Azazel. It's just kind of life or death," Raven said.

"I said it is no problem," Azazel said, but less sarcastic.

"Are you sure, Dr. Darkholme?"

Dr. Darkholme said, "I mean, if you want extra help, I've set up field generators at our digs before."

"All right," Moira said. "I could use another pair of eyes." 

"Hang on," Nick said. "We need to find the schematics. I'm not even sure what the generator room looks like. I doubt it's very clearly labeled down there. We have diagrams on the computer, of course, but…"

Shaw said, "Oh, yes, I have those. They're in my office." 

"So go get them!" Moira said, exasperated. She knew she never should have taken this job. But when she'd found out the true nature of the Jurassic Park project, she couldn't say no. Even if it wasn't making the best use of her police training, who wouldn't want the chance to see actual dinosaurs? 

"Yes, yes, of course," Shaw said, striding off briskly. At least his office was close to the control room. Moira continued pacing the control room, and moments later, Shaw returned with a set of blueprints. He unrolled them all over the table and frowned. 

"Okay, let's go!" Moira said, handing a walkie-talkie to Shaw.

"I should really be the one to go," Shaw said.

"What? Why?" Moira asked.

"Because I'm a…" Shaw said, and gestured vaguely at himself.

"We can discuss sexism in survival situations later," Moira said. "Azazel, let's go." 

Moira linked hands with Azazel and Raven, and the trio vanished in a puff of smoke before Shaw could reply. She really hated working for Shaw. If she survived this weekend, she was definitely going to quit. Maybe she'd finish filling out that CIA application she'd been working on before this job had come up. Maybe she'd ask Nick Fury on a date before she left Genosha. 

Moira gave them a few moments to let their eyes adjust to the dim light in the generator room, and then she said, "Okay, here's the plan. Raven, you take this walkie-talkie and flashlight and go reset everything. Shaw will talk you through it. Azazel and I will wait here by the door, just in case any dinosaurs figure out how to work doors. Our walkie is on the same channel, so we'll hear if you need help. Then just come back up the stairs when you're done, and we'll go back to the visitors' center together."

"Got it," Raven said, taking her equipment and striding briskly down the stairs. Moira listened intently over the radio, but it sounded like Raven had things under control. Azazel swished his tail impatiently. 

"They are nearby," he said.

"Who?"

"The dinosaurs."

"Yeah," Moira said. "That's why I brought this," she said, gesturing with her tranquilizer gun.

"Hmm," Azazel said noncommittally. 

Then Raven came running up the stairs. "Let's go!" she yelled. Moira heard a dinosaur hiss behind her, and grabbed hands with Azazel with no further questions.

When they reappeared in the control center, all the lights were back on and Raven looked shaken. "Great job," Moira said.

"Thanks. Now can we please get that information about dilophosaurus venom?" she asked.

Nick said, "I started a search as soon as the system came back online. Bad news is, we don't have much. Good news is, now that our phones are back online, I can call a hospital on the mainland to prepare them."

Shaw frowned. "No, no, I don't see any reason for that. Our own doctors can take care of him."

"No way," Dr. Darkholme said. "We are getting off this island as soon as possible. And, by the way, I do _not_ endorse Jurassic Park."

"Agreed," Moira said. "Also, I quit."

Shaw narrowed his eyes. "No need to do anything you might regret. Don't forget, I'm not without influence."

"What's more important? Your theme park, or our lives?" Moira asked.

"The theme park, of course," Shaw said. "This is the future! I'm not going to let a few minor setbacks prevent Jurassic Park from opening."

"Minor setbacks?" Nick said. He picked up the phone and started dialing. Shaw stepped over and grabbed the receiver out of his hands.

"Didn't you hear me, Nick? I've made my decision."

"Yeah, and given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've decided to ignore it," Nick replied. He tried to take the phone back, and Shaw's hands started to glow.

Moira didn't hesitate. She picked up her tranquilizer gun and shot Shaw in the back. "You can't stand in the way of progress," Shaw said, before collapsing on the ground.

"Well, that was fucked up," Nick said. "Let's get out of here. Azazel? Are you okay for one last trip to the mainland?"

"We have to go get my brother, and the others," Dr. Darkholme said. "But if the phones are back, we can call for a boat or helicopter, if you can't manage."

"I can manage," Azazel said. He sounded a bit offended. "I will make two trips. Nick, Moira, we will go first. Raven, I will meet you and the others down in the dining room."

"What about Dr. Shaw?" Moira asked.

Azazel shrugged. "He can find his own way back." 

"He should stand trial," Moira said.

"Then you can call the police from the mainland," Azazel said. "I will not take him. And Logan… I believe he can take care of himself."

"Sounds fine to me," Nick said. "Let's get out of here." He took Moira's hand, and she told Dr. Darkholme, "I'll see you on the mainland, then."

Dr. Darkholme nodded and said, "Thanks for everything."

Moira gave a tight smile and said, "It's what I do. I'll see you on the mainland." Then she handed Dr. Darkholme the tranquilizer gun and said, "Take this… just in case."

"Just what I always wanted," Dr Darkholme deadpanned, and then in the blink of an eye, Azazel took them out of the control room and back to the hotel where their visitors had stayed before arriving at the island.


	5. Charles

Charles opened his eyes and was pleased to see clean sheets, his sister, and no dinosaurs. He was pleased to _see_ at all. "Raven! Lovely to see you," he said. She looked even more beautiful than usual, her blue skin hazy and shimmering.

She smiled. "Hi, Charles. So it worked? You can see?"

"Yes, as good as ever. Oh! It's lovely to be off that terrible island." He frowned. "That was real, wasn't it?"

Raven squeezed his hand, and said, "Unfortunately. What do you remember?"

Charles thought back to his last conscious moments, holding hands with Erik Lehnsherr. "There were dinosaurs… there was… did… everyone else make it off the island all right?"

"Um, almost everyone," Raven said. 

Before Charles could ask for clarification, Erik came back into the hospital room, holding two bottles of water. He smiled. "Charles, glad to see you're doing better."

Charles smiled. "Erik! You're here."

Erik, looking rather handsome in his black leather jacket, shrugged. "I didn't want you and Raven to be alone here."

"That's lovely," Charles said. "You're lovely."

Raven said, "Uh, Charles, just so you know, you're on some pretty heavy painkillers right now."

"Oh. Lovely!" Charles said. "I feel perfectly lovely." 

Raven swallowed and said, "That's great, Charles, and I'm glad you have your vision back, but you should know that the doctors aren't sure if… um, there's been some nerve damage, from the venom…"

"They're not sure if you'll be able to walk," Erik finished bluntly.

"Walk? How silly," Charles said. "Of course I can walk. I've been walking all my life." He struggled to sit up, and then tried to swing his legs around, but Raven put her hand on his and said, "Hang on, Charles, just wait. You don't want to rip out your IV. Erik… would you mind getting the doctor?"

"Of course," Erik said, nodding once and leaving the room. 

Raven said, "Charles, you're going to be okay."

"Of course I will," Charles said. 

Erik returned with a woman in a lab coat and headscarf, who smiled at him broadly. "Charles! I am so glad to see you are awake. My name is Dr. Kasembe. How are you feeling?" 

"Lovely," Charles said.

"He's said that about fifty times," Raven added.

"Well, that is lovely to hear," Dr. Kasembe said. "It means that the medicine is doing its job."

"Erik said I wouldn't be able to walk," Charles said. "But that's silly, isn't it?"

Dr. Kasembe's grin fell. Charles wished he could read her mind, but everything felt a bit slippery, and he wasn't sure his powers would work the way he wanted them to. He hoped it was just the painkillers. "Well, Charles, I will be honest with you. We have never seen nerve damage quite like this before. You are quite lucky your sister got you here so quickly after the snakebite, but unfortunately, we were not sure what antivenom to use."

"Snake? No, it was a dinosaur."

Dr. Kasembe laughed and behind her, Raven shook her head furiously. Dr. Kasembe said, "It is good to see you're keeping your sense of humor. That is important. There is good news. It appears that your vision has returned--we will want an opthamologist to do some tests, but that can wait. You are a young man, in otherwise good health. Your prognosis is good. Your sister and Miss Frost have made some arrangements, and as soon as you are ready for the trip, you will be transferred to New York Presbyterian Hospital."

Raven said, encouragingly, "They have a really great rehabilitation center."

Dr. Kasembe said, "And you will be closer to your family."

"My family is here," Charles said. 

"Ah," Dr. Kasembe said. "Nevertheless, your sister is correct. It will be better for you to receive such care in New York." She made some notes on her clipboard and smiled. "I will be back to check on you later, but if you need anything, do not hesitate to page a nurse."

"Thank you, doctor," Raven said. After the doctor left, Raven whispered, "Emma changed everyone's memories to make them think you have a snakebite. We can't tell them it was a dinosaur."

"Why not? It was a dinosaur."

"Just… it will make sense to you when you're not so drugged up, Charles, I swear. But look, Nick gave us all the information Shaw had about dilophosaurus venom, and Hank and some of his med school friends are working on it back in New York. That's why we want to get you back home as soon as possible, okay?"

"Oh. Okay," Charles said. His eyelids felt very heavy, and Raven said, "Go ahead and get some rest. We'll wait here with you."

The next few days passed in a medicated blur before Charles got medical clearance to leave. He thanked Dr. Kasembe before he left, and she said she'd pray for him. Then he turned to Erik and said, "You'll come with us to New York, won't you?"

Erik shrugged and said, "I'm guest lecturing at NYU next month, so I suppose I might as well."

Raven rolled her eyes and Charles, somewhat freed of his painkiller fog, thought at her, _Don't roll your eyes, darling_.

For the time being, Charles needed a wheelchair, though he still thought of it as being temporary. Erik helped him get into the adaptive van Raven had arranged for, and they boarded the private jet without incident. Erik helped transfer him off the chair and into a cushy leather seat, and Charles settled in for a reasonably comfortable flight.

Raven spent much of the flight poring over the Jurassic Park data Nick and Moira had given her. Charles found that he wasn't quite up to working, but he and Erik passed several hours playing chess on a little travel set. They chatted and argued with an easy familiarity, as if they had known each other for much longer than a week. Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, while Raven dozed in her seat, Erik said, "Charles, do you remember what we talked about, the night you were injured?"

Charles frowned and dug through his memories. Things were still a bit hazy, and he thought he might be accessing some of Erik's memories as well. "Ah. Yes. About your mother."

Erik said nothing, but he looked stricken. Charles said, "Erik, what I said then was true. You weren't responsible for your mother's death. Sebastian Shaw was. He never should have had lab techs doing such dangerous work, _especially_ not when they had their children visiting them." He reached out and squeezed Erik's hand. "You never could have predicted that her experiment would explode so violently, and I doubt any mutant would have had the finesse to save her, not when their power first manifested. It's clear that Shaw does not value the safety of his employees."

"I never told anyone what happened," Erik said. "Shaw said it was my fault, for distracting her. But you saw it in my memories, and…" 

"I am sorry," Charles said. "I do try to keep my telepathy in check, but…"

"But you were delirious from dinosaur venom, yes," Erik said drily. 

"Well, now I'm not, and I assure you, you were certainly not to blame for your mother's death. I'm so sorry you had to grow up with that terrible burden." Charles leaned forward and squeezed Erik's hand. "I hope it's not too forward of me to say this, but as terrible as Shaw's park was, I am very grateful that it gave us the opportunity to meet, Erik."

Erik smiled and said, "Life always finds a way."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Life Finds a Way (The Lost World Mix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4182351) by [littledust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledust/pseuds/littledust)




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